Patriots Overtime Victory Over Ravens Sets CBS Ratings Mark

The Patriots 23-20 overtime victory over the Ravens on Sunday, Oct. 17 helped CBS set the mark for the highest rating for its single-game window since it acquired the current AFC package in 2008.

The window, which included the Patriots-Ravens, Dolphins-Packers, Jets-Broncos, and Browns-Steelers matchups, averaged a 12.8 HH rating and 21.5 million viewers nationwide, making it the most-watched Sunday CBS single-game window since CBS resumed NFL coverage in 1998. The window broke the old record set week 16 of the 2008 season during a game for first place between the Steelers and Titans, which had a 12.3 HH rating and 20.0 million viewers.

Locally, the game had a 29.84 rating with a 61 share. The game peaked with a 38.25 rating during overtime.

With 734,000 households watching the game locally, the Patriots-Ravens game more than doubled the 338,400 households that watched Dancing with the Stars, the second most watched program of the week in the Boston TV market. Dancing with Stars had a rating of 13.8 and a 20 share on Monday, October 11. Patriots 5th Quarter, which followed the New England game on WBZ, placed third with a 13.7 rating and a 27 share on Sunday.

The Patriots-Ravens game was the second most-watched game in the Boston TV market of the year, behind CBS’s doubleheader weekend on Sept. 19 that featured the Patriots and the Jets as the 4:15 game. That game was the most watched September CBS game ever and the third most watched game during the NFL season with 27 million viewers nationwide.